Decatur, Ind.--Systems-built homes from
All American Homes continue to remain virtually unscathed
despite the relentless onslaught of major hurricanes leaving
a path of damage, devastation and despair throughout Florida
and several other southern states.

Doug Relick, owner of DD&K Traditional Homes in Sebastian,
Fla., survived both Hurricane Frances and Jeanne. Relick,
an All American Homes® builder who lives with his family
in an All American® home in Vero Beach, said he provided
the neighborhood "safe house" twice in three weeks.
"Some of my neighbors didn't feel secure in their stick-built
or masonry block homes, so they asked if they could stay with
us while we rode out Frances." Seven adults, eleven kids,
nine guinea pigs, four dogs and four cats gathered in the
home to brave the storm's sustained 110 mph winds as they
pummeled Florida's Atlantic coast. Relick's home stood tall
with no structural damage.

Across the state, other All American Homes builders had similar
stories. "All of our homes came through just fine, including
one home where the interior wasn't yet complete. We lost a
few shingles and some fascia here and there, but that was
about it," said Oren Schneider, owner of Castle Rock
Contracting's New Castle Homes in hard-hit Port Charlotte,
Fla., where Hurricane Charley made its brutal landfall with
sustained winds between 131 and 155 mph.

Though nearby Punta Gorda also bore the brunt of Hurricane
Charley's force, Kermit Horne said his All American homes
suffered no structural damage. Horne owns Hallmark Homes in
Dundee, Fla. and has homes in the Punta Gorda area. "While
some homes were demolished, all we lost was a ridge vent,
which is part of the roof's ventilation system, and a few
pieces of siding. Our homes fared very well."

All American Homes, LLC, a subsidiary of Coachmen Industries,
Inc. (NYSE: COA), is one of the nation's largest builders
of system-built homes. All American began building in Florida
just two years ago, and now has 75 homes up throughout the
state. Precision-built off site in a climate-controlled environment
that provides greater quality control, construction speed
and protection from the elements, the structural frames of
systems-built homes are stronger than traditional site-built
(sometimes called stick-built) homes.

"Because they're transported by highway to building
sites, then lifted by cranes to be set in place on permanent
foundations, All American's systems-built homes by necessity
use more building materials than site-built homes. The additional
lumber, nails, fasteners and adhesives greatly increase our
homes' overall strength," said Steve Kerr, President
of All American Homes. "Our exterior walls are built
with 2" by 6" wall studs on 16-inch centers, giving
them more rigidity than the 2" by 4" studs used
in most stick-built homes. Our floor joists are 2" by
10" on 16" centers, also much sturdier than the
joists normally found in site-built homes. And even in high
winds, the expandable foam bonding the ceiling wallboard to
the framing offers tremendous holding power."

A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) report on building
performance during 1992's Hurricane Andrew noted that homes
of the type built by All American withstood the ravages of
that storm's Category 4 winds of 131-155 mph far better than
stick-built housing. FEMA stated these homes "provided
an inherently rigid system that performed much better than
conventional residential framing."

Kerr said that the homes All American builds for Florida
must adhere to that state's strict wind zone regulations so
that they're strong enough to offer protection during a hurricane.
The zones vary throughout the state, with the highest along
the coastal regions. "Florida has wind zones that start
at 90 mph, but we take extra steps to go ahead and wind-build
our homes for at least 130 mph so that we know they're strong,
even building some of our homes strong enough to withstand
160 mph winds," explained Kerr. "To meet those wind
zone standards we increase the amount of nails and screws
we use to secure our roof sheathing to the rafters. We only
use DP50-rated windows that are engineered to withstand hurricane
force winds and protect against flying debris. We also increase
the number of metal fabricated straps we use to connect floor
joists, walls and floors so that the homes are even stronger."

Several neighbors had watched Relick set his home last year,
which he had built to the 160 mph wind zone standard, so they
saw first hand the extra strength built into an All American®
systems-built home. After safely riding out one hurricane,
some of his neighbors asked to stay with the Relicks again
when the warning came that Vero Beach was in the path of Jeanne.
Despite Jeanne's 120 mph winds, the home remained undamaged.
"One neighbor was a veteran of nine hurricanes. She slept
soundly all night in my son's room upstairs, and said she
never felt so secure in a home during a hurricane," said
Relick.

Kerr pointed out that building in a controlled environment
gives All American Homes an advantage in producing strong
homes. "Before they even leave our facility, we have
every aspect of the homes inspected by an independent third
party to ensure they meet Florida's wind zone standards. Even
the metal straps we use are verified by outside engineers
as meeting the required standards. We actually overbuild our
homes to ensure they're strong, but building the way we do
allows us to keep costs reasonable because we have so much
more construction and quality control over the building process."

That building process helped homes built by A.J. Builders
in Brandon, Fla., to withstand two hurricanes and not suffer
any significant damage, according to owner Jim Helmich. "We
had a home that was 99 percent complete in Myakka City, where
the winds were over 135 mph from Hurricane Charley. It didn't
lose so much as a shingle. Frances hit this area hard, too,
and still all we lost were a few shingles. There was no structural
damage at all."

Several builders contrasted the strength of All American's
systems-built homes to another type of home construction popular
in Florida. "Since it's a hard material, some people
assume masonry block construction is stronger, but that's
not necessarily the case. While there's reinforced steel every
four feet, the rest is mortar and those mortar joints may
crack in very high winds," said Lee Jolicoeur of Homes
by Jolicoeur in Okeechobee. Jolicoeur had 29 All American®
homes that survived the fury of both Frances and Jeanne without
any structural damage.

In Naples, Mark Johnson of Florida Custom Homes said although
masonry block homes are strong, since they're all one piece,
hurricane-force winds can damage the entire structure. "Systems-built
homes are built in sections, so the impact of high winds is
spread out and dissipated."

All American homes that Johnson built in Lehigh Acres, where
Hurricane Charley ravaged the landscape, "just lost a
few shingles. They held up well during the hurricanes and
several tornadoes, which caused extensive roof damage on homes
throughout the area."

Referring to Florida's strict hurricane wind zone regulations,
Johnson said, "I've always done well by building All
American homes, because they already exceeded the state hurricane
design standards."

Homes built by All American Homes, LLC are made to meet or
exceed state and local building codes and are constructed
for placement on traditional site-built home foundations in
residential neighborhoods. All American Homes is a subsidiary
of Elkhart, Ind.-based Coachmen Industries, Inc. The company
has homebuilding facilities in Decatur, Ind.; Dyersville,
Iowa; Milliken, Colo.; Osage City, Kan.; Rutherfordton, N.C.;
Springfield, Tenn. and Zanesville, Ohio. Mod-U-Kraf Homes,
a division of All American Homes®, is located in Rocky
Mount, Va.

Coachmen Industries, Inc., now celebrating its 40th anniversary,
is one of America's leading manufacturers of recreational
vehicles with well-known brand names including COACHMEN®,
GEORGIE BOY™, SPORTSCOACH®, and VIKING®. The
Company's subsidiary, ALL AMERICAN HOMES®, is one of the
nation's largest producers of systems-built homes. Coachmen
Industries is also a major builder of commercial structures
with its ALL AMERICAN BUILDING SYSTEMS™ and MILLER BUILDING
SYSTEMS™ products. Prodesign, LLC is a subsidiary that
produces custom composite and thermoformed plastic parts for
numerous industries under the PRODESIGN® brand. Coachmen
Industries, Inc. is a publicly held company with stock listed
on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker COA.

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